10 Things You Should Know About Incarceration in the U.S.

U.S. incarceration rate is five times most countries'.

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Crime Rates Have Dropped - As crime rates fall in the United States, incarceration is still an economic and social issue for families and communities, according to a recent report by the Hamilton Project. Take a look at 10 things you should know about the prison system in America. —Natelege Whaley  In the past 25 years, crime rates have steadily spiraled down. Between 1991 and 2001, rates dropped nearly 30 percent. They fell another 22 percent between 2001 and 2012.(Photo: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

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Low-Income Individuals More Likely to Be Victims - Although crime has dropped on average, low-income individuals are three times as likely to be victims of crimes than those with family incomes above $75,000 a year. Assault followed by acts of attempted violence were the most prevalent crimes against people with family incomes of less than $15,000 per year.(Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

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Most Criminals Are Under 30 - The youth make up the majority of criminal offenders, with 27 percent of known offenders being individuals ages 11 to 20 and 34 percent being ages 21 to 30. These numbers includes anyone involved in a crime whether they were arrested or not. (Photo: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

Fort Worth, Texas - In 2011, the Fort Worth Texas Public Bus Line introduced a policy where bus riders would be kicked off for showing their undergarments or excessive skin. (Photo: Paul Harris, Pacificcoastnews.com)

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Low-Income Youth More Likely to Commit Riskier Crimes - When it comes to drug offenses, low-income and higher-income youth are equally likely to engage. But low-income youth are more likely to attack someone, become a gang member, steal something worth more than $50 and carry a gun. (Photo: Paul Harris, Pacificcoastnews.com)

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Stricter Laws Have Increased the Incarceration Rate - Federal and state lawmakers have established mandatory prison sentence lengths for specific offenses. Specifically, many states established the "three strikes" rule, which allowed courts to impose harsher sentences on habitual offenders.  (Photo: Doug Berry/Getty Images)

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Racial Profiling Definition  - The law would define racial profiling as the targeting of individuals or groups by law enforcement officials, even partially, on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, gender identity or immigration status. (Photo: Joshua Lott/Getty Images)

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U.S. Incarceration Rate Extremely Higher Than Other Countries - The U.S. incarceration rate in 2012 was 710 per 100,000 U.S. residents. This is five times the global rate of 130. The U.S. also has twice the amount of inmates than 90 percent of the world. (Photo: Joshua Lott/Getty Images)

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Black Men Without HS Diploma Most Likely to Be Imprisoned - African-American men who do not complete high school have a 70 percent chance of being imprisoned by the time they are in their mid-thirties. (Photo: John Moore/Getty Images)

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Corrections Expenditures Have Skyrocketed in Past Decades - Federal, state and local spending on corrections such as supervision, confinement and rehabilitation for offenders has more than quadrupled in the past three decades from $17 billion in 1980 to $80 billion in 2010. (Photo: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

Children of High School Dropouts More Likely to See Fathers Locked Up - More than 53 percent of American prisoners are parents of children under the age of 18. In particular, fathers who are high school dropouts are four times more likely to be imprisoned than those fathers with a college education.  (Photo: Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

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Children of High School Dropouts More Likely to See Fathers Locked Up - More than 53 percent of American prisoners are parents of children under the age of 18. In particular, fathers who are high school dropouts are four times more likely to be imprisoned than those fathers with a college education.  (Photo: Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

Juvenile Incarceration Negatively Impacts Young People's Future - Incarceration at a young age can mean a significant difficulty in their future. The study states that it can decrease a youth's likeliness of graduating from high school by 13 percent and only increases their chances of being incarcerated as an adult by 15 percent.  (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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Juvenile Incarceration Negatively Impacts Young People's Future - Incarceration at a young age can mean a significant difficulty in their future. The study states that it can decrease a youth's likeliness of graduating from high school by 13 percent and only increases their chances of being incarcerated as an adult by 15 percent. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)